"We are honored and pleased to receive this recognition for the NWSC," said Aaron Andersen, deputy director of operations and services at NCAR's Computational and Information Systems Laboratory, in a news release.

"Nearly 10 years of planning and hard work went into designing this facility to be as sustainable as possible, and it is gratifying to have the facility in production use and be able to share what we've done. We hope this facility advances the entire industry."

H+L Architecture and the engineering firm RMH Group shared the award with NCAR for their role in the design of the facility and its systems.

Construction of the NWSC was made possible through the sponsorship of National Science Foundation and a collaborative partnership between local, state, and federal government entities, along with private industry to provide project funding and governance. The NWSC is operated by NCAR on behalf of the NSF and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

"The state of Wyoming is proud to be a partner in this supercomputing facility," Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said, also in a news release. "The designers did an excellent job putting to work Wyoming's natural advantages for data centers, and I join in congratulating them on this award."

The NWSC, which is home to one of the most powerful supercomputers dedicated to Earth system science, last year also secured a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.